What kind of cat is that?

Not every cat can be a purebred, but even your beloved moggie can come in a dazzling array of colors and patterns. I’ve written about the genetics behind feline coat colors

1. Self

My Belladonna is a self-colored black cat.

A self-colored cat has a solid-colored coat with no tabby markings, patching, smoke, or other color patterns. Self-colored cats come in all colors.

2. Dilute

This gray cat is a dilute version of a black cat. Photo CC-BY Heather McLaughlin

A dilute-colored cat is a lighter version of one of the standard cat colors. A gray cat is a dilute black cat, a cream-colored cat is a dilute orange cat, and so on. Dilute colors can occur in any feline color pattern.

3. Bicolor

My lovely Tara is a tuxedo cat.

A bicolor cat is any color plus white. A tuxedo cat is a classic bicolor kitty, but bicolor cats can come in every color on the feline spectrum.

4. Van

An orange van pattern cat. Photo CC-BY-SA Chris

A cat with a van color pattern is almost entirely white with small patches of color. This color pattern is named after the Turkish Van cat, which is white with a red or black tail and perhaps a few other small patches of color on the head and shoulders.

5. Calico

Calico cat. Photo CC-BY-NC Michael Frank Franz

A calico cat is white with patches of red and black. Calico cats can be dilute colored, with gray and cream-colored spots.

6. Tortoiseshell

A tortiseshell cat, as opposed to a calico, is covered with small splotches of black and red. Photo CC-BY-NC Augie Ray

A tortoiseshell, or tortie, cat is distinguished from a calico because a tortie is entirely red and black. The red and black is in a randomly patched, rather than spotted, pattern. Dilute torties are covered in gray and cream-colored fur.

7. Tabby

A classic tabby and white cat. Notice the large splotches of black in almost a target shape. Photo CC-BY Helena Jacoba

Tabbies are the famous striped cats. There are three tabby patterns: A classic tabby has a more marbled and blotchy pattern- a mackerel tabby has narrow stripes- and a ticked tabby has black-tipped fur with a lighter color underneath. A Somali cat is a ticked tabby. It’s rare to see ticked tabby patterns in mixed-breed cats, but it does happen.

My Thomas is a perfect mackerel tabby and white cat. Notice the narrow stripes that go vertically down the flanks.

What kind of cat do you have? Share your photos in the comments!